Introduction
Many states in the United States have legalized some form of Marijuana, with a majority of them approving it only for medical use. Fourteen of these have decriminalized its use while four have also approved its recreational use (Järvinen & Ravn, 2013) . Many people even in states where marijuana is not yet legalized support both its medicinal and recreational use. The high support for the legalization of marijuana means that we are in an era of acceptance where deviance in the form of marijuana use is becoming the norm. The acceptance marijuana use either as a medical option or for recreational will have various impacts on the society and will warrant policy changes in various sections. Policies of zero tolerance and strict drug testing will have to be amended in states where medical use marijuana is permitted. Marijuana users are increasingly being treated as regulars in the society. This paper will explore the changing societal perspectives towards marijuana use and the acceptance of its users in the modern society.
Societal Perceptions about Marijuana Use
Marijuana has been used traditionally by the Hispanics for various purposes. Other societies had not embraced its use until recently when researchers explored its medicinal abilities and shattered many myths about it. Marijuana users were sidelined and shunned as misfits in many societies where marijuana use was taboo or illegal. Much of the modern society today has adopted a more tolerant perspective to marijuana use. The sociological analysis and comprehension of deviance is subject to societal reactions and perceptions towards a particular behavior since behaviors are not deviant in themselves but their conceptualization by the society makes them so (Mostaghim & Hathaway, 2017) . This is why there are changes in societal attitudes and opinions towards various types of supposedly unexpected and ‘deviant’ behavior. The Pew research center in a report noted one such change towards using marijuana, a perceived societal deviance (Mostaghim & Hathaway, 2017) .
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In the study, more than half of adult Americans said that marijuana use was socially acceptable behavior, regardless of their stand on its legalization or its use. 42 percent of Americans felt that it was not acceptable socially. 74 percent of people who use or have ever used it said that its use was socially acceptable while 37 percent of those who have never used it said it was not socially acceptable.
A majority of those who participated in the study said that they would be indifferent if they learnt that their leaders, clergymen, children’s school teachers, or celebrities used marijuana in their private life. All the participants however agreed that they would have less regard and respect for parents and adults who smoke in front of their kid or other children have less respect for such a person.
The Acceptance Process
A large population favors the legalization of marijuana in the US. The passing of laws and policies in favor of its legalization in any form be it medical or recreational still remains controversial. There are many organizations and Political Action Committees such as Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana (CALM) that actively oppose its use and legalization, working to prevent or disapprove any legalization attempts.
The early and mid-twentieth century was an age when marijuana use was seen as detrimental to public safety and health. Users were perceived as evil and dangerous with the potential of running insane, becoming psychopaths and rapists, and threatening public security. The cultural revolution of the 1960s saw smoking of marijuana become popular especially among those who considered themselves to be on the cutting edge. Marijuana use was then associated with the undisciplined and rebellious in the society (Sharifi, 2012) . The societal culture then feared the transformation that was evidently happening, especially among the youth, and usually cast the blame on marijuana use. There was massive experimentation from young people who challenged traditional conservative lifestyles and values, engaging in premarital ‘free sex’, using prohibited drugs, and embracing communal living. Many explored new religions and sought what they called higher consciousness. Marijuana, consequently, became a symbol for those challenging existing norms and authority.
About 60 percent of the American population today supports the complete legalization of marijuana, with little concern over why one uses it. While this represents a very high degree of acceptance, marijuana use is still considered as deviant behavior, but largely because a significant portion of the society defines it as such. Part of the society still chooses to blindly judge people on the basis of their recreational activities without a keen look at other factors. Marijuana users are just like other regular members in the community, except that they use marijuana, just like others use tobacco and alcohol, which sometimes pose greater danger. Marijuana users may or may not participate in criminal or unaccepted behavior, just like other members of the society. The society is evolving fast and acceptability is growing so perhaps deviance will in the near future not be about marijuana use, just like it is no longer about body implants or women wearing pants to school (Sharifi, 2012) .
Deviance Defined
Deviance may be defined as an act, attitude, belief, or attitude that is against the accepted norms in a particular culture or society. It may elicit either a positive or negative reaction. Rosa Parks, for example, violated the norm of the time by not acknowledging racial superiority and her act had a positive outcome. It is daunting to straightforwardly describe what deviant behavior is. This is because a straightforward description would be subjective due to dependence on various factors such as the audience, the place, and the person doing the act.
Many elements of sociology have no absolute answers, and so does deviance. Norms vary across time and culture, and so does perspectives of deviance. What one society looks at as deviant behavior may be acceptable in another and this perception may change with time. Public schools in the 1960s had strict dress codes that forbade women from wearing pants in school, among other stipulations. Women today wear pants to schools since it has become socially acceptable. It is still considered deviant if a man wears a skirt. During war, one may be rewarded for doing a normally morally reprehensive act such as killing. The description of an act as either deviant or not therefore depends on the community’s perspective. Single parenthood, having tattoos, having therapeutic surgeries, jogging, or even being a vegetarian are now socially accepted behaviors. It is almost unbelievable that they were once considered as deviant behavior and those who practiced them were socially sidelined.
The social change process can is more than often accompanied by considerable disagreements particularly when the social norm of concern is essentially at the core of societal fabric. Homosexuality, for instance, was once seen as a threat to the institution of the father-mother-child family, and therefore carried the stigmatized status. Being a homosexual was then deviant behavior, as it still is in many societies today. The use of marijuana is now legal in many US states, as opposed to decades ago when it was considered deviant and criminal behavior. The social perspectives on the issue are however changing.
How the Legal Status of Marijuana Relates to its Use
The pew research center study revealed that the legalization of marijuana would make no difference in its use to about two thirds of the sample population. Only less than a third of the respondents said that they would use marijuana if it was legal. About a quarter said that they did not use it because they didn’t like it while an eighth cited consciousness about their health. These statistics suggest a possible popularity of marijuana in the US, even in states where its use is still illegal. They also indicate that the availability of the drug is not a major concern, suggesting the possibility of the availability of many underground suppliers (Goode, 2018) .
The Pew study found that a majority of Americans favored the legalization of marijuana as opposed to earlier studies which found that very few people supported it. 76 percent of the respondents were also against the jailing of people convicted of minor marijuana-associated crimes such as personal-use possession. These new developments point to the reality in a society where the legal status of marijuana does not make much difference (Golzar, 2015) .
Conclusion
The modern world is no longer judging people by their choice of medicinal and/or recreational drugs. The use of marijuana is not a big deal anymore and there have been significant positive achievements in the general perception of marijuana users. There still are some public concerns about the issue that play a role in the prejudice and contempt that marijuana users continue to experience in some spheres.
The paper has revealed that the definition of deviance and public opinions about marijuana develop from shared conceptions. There have been considerable advances in the acceptance of marijuana. The perspective of its use as deviant behavior is also changing following its legal use in many states and acceptance by the society. Societal viewpoints evolve over time and change regularly so it is expected that there will be continued change in opinions and policies that will continue to transform the future.
References
Golzar, T. I. (2015). An Economic Analysis of Marijuana Legalization in Florida. Retrieved Oct 11, 2018, from Duke University: https://sites.duke.edu/djepapers/files/2016/10/golzar-dje.original.pdf
Goode, E. (2018). Howard Becker, Drug Use and the Sociology of Deviance . Retrieved Oct 11, 2018, from Drugabuse: http://drugabuse.imedpub.com/howard-becker-drug-use-and-the-sociology-of-deviance.php?aid=22268
Järvinen, M., & Ravn, S. (2013). Cannabis careers revisited: Applying Howard S. Becker’s theory to present-day cannabis use. Retrieved Oct 11, 2018, from University of Copenhagen: https://www.soc.ku.dk/dokumenter/J_rvinen__Ravn_2014.pdf
Mostaghim, A., & Hathaway, A. D. (2017). Identity Formation, Marijuana and “The Self”: A Study of Cannabis Normalization among University Students. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 4 .
Sharifi, R. (2012). Tolerating Deviance: Drug Tourism and Normalization of Cannabis. Retrieved Oct 11, 2018, from Lunds University Publications: http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=2760231&fileOId=2760245
